Technical Foul Play
by Shadyyyy
Summary: During a professional basketball game that pairs power forward Ulrich and point guard Odd's team against a team of punks lead by tough-guy shooting guard William Dunbar, what starts as a relatively normal intense game between rivals becomes a fight for survival and a night no one in the stadium will ever forget. Rated T language and some strong violence. ON HIATUS


Chapter One: The Prologue

Basketball was Ulrich Stern, Odd Della Robbia, and William Dunbar's passion. They loved playing, they loved the fans, and they especially loved the money and fame. The best days of their lives were getting drafted into the French Pro-basketball league. Tonight, though, was the first time they would be playing against each other. Ulrich and Odd played for Cholet, consistently one of the best teams in the league. William played for Nanterre, which was a great team, but not as great as Cholet. Tonight's game would be played at Nanterre's home court. The fans were known as a bunch of punks, and were routinely popping up on a list of reasons to ban the sale of alcohol at sporting events in France. This game was supposed to be the matchup of the season.

Ulrich was drafted after only playing two-years at college. The 6'11'', 240-pound Ulrich was a dominating power forward who was unstoppable in the post. He was one tough bastard, averaging 28.3 points per game. He had a reputation as a highly respected and much loved big man, capable of a variety of mid-range jumpers and difficult lay-ups. People often compared him to Pau Gasol for his athleticism despite his large stature. Ulrich had never been ejected, and so far in his career only had two technical fouls (One for hanging on the rim and another for what was deemed an "overt reaction" to a foul call, but was barely a shrug). One of Ulrich's great qualities was how calm and cool he remained even in the game's most heated moments.

Odd was drafted out of high school. Odd was scouted by many college teams, but He decided to forgo college because of fear he would not be academically sound. When he entered the draft, Odd was afraid he's never get picked. He was picked 21st overall, while Ulrich, his best friend, was picked 1st overall in a tightly contested draft that also featured their old rival William Dunbar. Odd was a 5'11 point guard with an incredible array of shooting prowess and the ability to get the ball to the right person every time. His athleticism was only matched by Ulrich's. Odd was averaging 20.6 points per game, and 10 assists a game, the highest in the league. He is often compared to Tony Parker for his ability to convert difficult lay-ups. Odd, unlike Ulrich, had many technical fouls, and he has been ejected four times. His cocky attitude and his propensity to talk shit and make fun of other players have earned him many of those. In one game, Odd was fouled hard from behind by the other team's power forward, which led to a shoving match. Odd and the other player from the other team were issued technical fouls. When the other player started arguing with the ref and was ejected, Odd threw up a middle finger to the player as he exited, sparking two members of the opposing team to charge after Odd, and another fight broke out, which lasted for several minutes. When that fight had wrapped up and the players were separated, the penalties were severe. Odd was ultimately suspended for seven games, the initial fouler was fined, and the two players who fought with Odd (Stefan Christiane and Vito Castelli) were suspended for three games each. But despite Odd's shortcomings, he still was widely hailed as a brilliant point guard and many sports commentators saw no reason how Cholet wouldn't win the championship this year. Odd and Ulrich were considered the best tag-team in French basketball.

William Dunbar, on the other hand, had a rather oily past and reputation. He had a long criminal record in his childhood, with him being arrested for trespassing, shoplifting and robbery among other things. Basketball was credited with reforming and saving his life. In college, he was known for being a tough guy and a bit of a show-off. His trash-talking is said to rival Odd's. At 6'8'', he was tall for a shooting guard, but he still played his position with ease. He was a deadly three point and post player, with a very high probability of hitting clutch threes and other shots. William was also known as a dirty player, frequently fouling unnecessarily and talking trash when the ref's back was turned. But one thing he always did was let the other team know, especially at home games, was that they were playing in HIS gym, and no one could fuck with him. His relationship with his teammates tended to be positive as they appreciated his skill and his tendency to get everyone in the house excited. William loved the fans, even though he knew that Nanterre were all drunken losers. He just loved the idea of having fans. His technical fouls were constant, and he had been ejected twelve times. His most famous ejection was one that resulted in him being suspended for twelve games. In the last minute of a game, when he received a second technical (which is an automatic ejection), William proceeded to throw a folding chair across the court toward a referee, and then launching into a tirade of obscenities. William ended up being fined even more than for Odd's fight. William was averaging 25.3 points a game. Tonight was very important for him and for Nanterre not only because of the ubiquitous rivalry between the two teams, but because for the first time since the draft, William would be playing against his old foes Ulrich Stern and Odd Della Robbia, and he did not want to lose at home to them.

Needless to say, this game would be the biggest in the season and the arena sold out in minutes.

The teams' starting rosters at the time went like this:

Cholet:

13 Ulrich Stern, PF

5 Odd Della Robbia, PG

22 Xi Xi, SF (a veteran small forward with a great fade-away, 6'9'', of Chinese origin)

78 Anders Ergstrom, C (a large but slow Swedish center)

40 David Schofield, SG (An American who was thrown out of the NBA for an illegal gambling operation. Unable to find another league in America, he moved to France to find somewhere to play. He is fluent in French, Mandarin, and German)

Head Coach: Pierre LaPettit. At 34, he is the youngest coach in the league. He came to the team the year Stern and Della Robbia were drafted. Under his leadership, Cholet won the pennant the last two years.

Nanterre:

33 Jean-Marc Pinon, PF (A muscular, 6'8'' flopper and dirty player, notorious for giving another player a concussion by elbowing his head)

8 Paul Maillard, PG (a 6'1'' punk with a bit of a short fuse, known for snapping at other players and referees)

1 Sergio Rizzo, SF (an unrelenting and predatory 6'6'' Italian with a city-wide mean streak)

26 Christophe M'Bala, C (the only African on either team, the 7'6'' Senegalese monster also went to Kadic High with William Dunbar, Ulrich Stern, and Odd Della Robbia. Probably the only level-headed and rational player on Nanterre)

16 William Dunbar, SG

Head Coach: Dominique Annaud. A surprisingly reasonable and disciplined individual, this twenty-year veteran coach has led Nanterre to five divisional pennants. They have yet to win one since Stern and Della Robbia were drafted, though.

* * *

When Ulrich and Odd were in the locker room changing into their uniforms, Ulrich seemed to be kind of depressed. Odd sat next to him and put his arm around his shoulder.

"Ulrich, why are you so down? You know we're going to kick these guys' asses."

"It's William." Ulrich took a sip of Gatorade.

"What about him?" Odd asked while tying his shoes.

"I haven't talked to him in so long, and I know he's gonna hold no punches tonight. Not to mention those fucking punks he calls a team." Ulrich pulled his jersey over his wife beater and put his headband over his head.

"Look, Ulrich," Dave Schofield began as he sat down. "These guys don't stand a chance. Dunbar's a dumb bastard who hates to lose."

"Yeah, he's just gonna pick up two quick techs and he's gone." Odd remarked.

"Speaking of that Odd," Xi added. "Don't let these guys get to you. We need you and Ulrich to beat these guys, so don't react to calls and don't show off, 'cuz guess who will get pissed off?"

Everyone sighed. "I swear if these damned refs give bullshit calls again I'm going to rip Dunbar a new one." Ergstrom said from the corner of the room while slipping on his knee braces.

"Look, Anders. I know this is going to be a heated game from the start, but just keep as cool as possible. That goes for the rest of you." Ulrich announced.

At that moment, Coach LePettit walked in to give his pre-game speech. "Alright guys, I know you're pretty worried, but let me reassure you that with our team, there's no way we can lose. That's for damn sure. Now, just get out there and win. Ulrich, get in the post and get the ball from Odd and score. Odd, get the ball to Ulrich like always. That's all you two have to do, and we will win. Sure they will try to get under your skin, but don't let it get to you. Good luck to all of you."

With that, the team walked out of the locker room and out onto the court for the national anthem.

**A/N: Well, that's the first chapter. Several characters are based off of real NBA players. David Schofield is partially inspired by Roger Brown, who played in the 1960's and was banned for a similar reason. Xi Xi is based on Yao Ming to an extent. Ulrich's skills are based off of Pau Gasol. Odd's skills and personality are based off of Nate Robinson. William's come from a mix of Ray Allen and Mike Miller. Anders Ergstrom is supposed to look like Dirk Nowitzki. Coach LaPettit is a carbon copy of former Butler and now Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. As for William's team, Pinon is obviously inspired by Ron Artest, and Maillard is based on Steve Blake.**

**Anyways, Review and tell me what you think!**


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